Aftermath
by NerdyWriterGirl
Summary: Post-Cassette (spoilers). Cecil is having a hard time understanding what it means. Carlos is just there to help. distraught!Cecil, good boyfriend!Carlos. Slight tentacles (not major plot point) one-shot


**Hello! Not my usual category, but my most recent obsession so I'm trying my hand at it. **

**WARNING: THERE ARE SPOILERS (A BIT) TO CASSETTES**

**To whom it may concern: I apologize about the lack of update on Capture. I have the chapter written, but word has expired on my computer and it is unacceptable. I just need to renew it, probably in the next couple of weeks. If you don't know what I'm talking about, ignore this. **

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"Cecil!" Carlos yelled, bursting into Cecil's apartment, key in his hand. "Cecil!" The apartment was dark, not like the city council's mandated two hours of utter bone-chilling darkness between four and five A.M. every third Tuesday, more like the unsettling darkness of coming home to a cold, empty house, expecting it to be filled with family and the gently wafting smell of dinner on the stove.

Carlos paused in the doorway, almost forgetting to make sure he repeated the proper doormat chants to enter the house. Once the correct guttural noise had been uttered, he made his way to Cecil's bedroom, avoiding various slime patches and blood spots.

"Cecil?" Carlos paused outside the bedroom door, knocking. "Are you okay? I heard your broadcast tonight..." He trailed off, pushing the door open. The white-haired man sat on the floor next to the bed, holding the remains of a crushed cassette tape in his hands. Shadows were draped around him, the entire room oozing his aura of sorrow, fear, and confusion.

"Carlos-..." Cecil sounded weak, and Carlos heard his heart ache slightly at the state his usually over-enthusiastic boyfriend was in. Cecil's head slowly rolled over, peering up at him, tears building in his violet eyes.

Carlos cautiously walked over to the man, dropping onto the floor next to him, and allowing Cecil to throw his arms and around him and sod into his work lab coat.

"Shh, it'll be okay." He murmured, rubbing Cecil's back, holding him. The couple sat there for a while, Cecil's various (both real and non-corporeal) limbs tangled around Carlos, Carlos providing comfort. Cecil finally managed to get a hold of himself a bit, removing himself from Carlos and wiping his eyes.

"Carlos... I-I don't know what this means." He held up the crumbled pieces of plastic in his hands. "I don't remember this." He gazed up at him, purple eyes brimming with tears.

"Sh... Sh..." Carlos tried to calm him down again, his lab coat had already taken quite a beating with what Night Vale considered to be "standard tears". "Let's think about this logically, okay?" He said, thinking about it the only way he could. Cecil nodded.

Carlos opened his mouth before something occurred to him. He glanced down at Cecil, who was still gazing at the broken cassette in his hand. Carlos' expression hardened, running through the various conversations they had over the year and a half they had known each other; specifically, conversations about Cecil's childhood. The evidence backed up his hypothesis, now to pose the question.

"Cecil..." He said cautiously, "What's the first thing you remember?"

"What?"

"Like, what's your earliest childhood memory? I remember you talking about Europe, your mom, and being a Dreadnaught Scout as a teenager, but you've never talked about your early childhood." He attempted to say all of this delicately, gauging his boyfriend's reaction.

Cecil blinked at him, eyes wide. He considered the question. "Well, I remember Mother used to take to the bloodstone chants every Sunday morning. She would stare blankly ahead as I pulled her hand along, eager to get to the park and see the glowing lights of souls being devoured by-..." Cecil started to slip into his radio voice, rambling on about his Sunday mornings as a child.

"Cecil, Cecil, stop." Carlos interrupted him. "That's very nice, but how old were you when this happened?"

"Oh Carlos, you know how it is. Blood stone circles mess up your time, spatial manifestations, and egg laying schedule."

"Humor me."

"Well, I guess I must have been... about..." his voice trailed off, ending in a whisper. "fifteen."

"So you have no memories before that? When you were little?"

"I- I..." The two men's eyes met, scientist and the unknown.

Carlos embraced Cecil. He had so many questions, tests he wanted to preform, data he wanted to collect, but that didn't matter, not right now.

"My beautiful, perfect Carlos." Cecil said, in the way Carlos knew exactly what he meant. Fingers ran up through dark, long hair.

"I love you too." Whispered Carlos.

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**Yep. Short, sorry not sorry. I'll be posting another longer one I've written here in a couple of days to a couple of weeks. Keep your eyes peeled. Thanks for reading, feel free to leave a review letting me know what you think. **

**Later Gator,**

**NerdyWriterGirl**


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